i have money, i get to buy things. capitalism allows me that freedom. but all that i pay for is how many dollars it takes to get the product to me. when I'm done with the product and throw it away, the government (meaning everyone) pays for its disposal, and in differing degrees we all share the incurred environmental degradation and contamination from its extraction, production, distribution, use and disposal.
how is that fair?
to me, clean water, air, forests and a stable climate are as valuable as any other good. if consumer Joe wants to buy something, he should be buying not only the product, but the reclamation, proper disposal and offsets that leave our environment and economy in an equal state.
I'm not suggesting that it will be simple to determine the environmental cost of every component of every product, but until we try, I don't think it's fair that I pay as much as Joe does for the externalities of his consumption. Any capitalist knows that the invisible hand of economics can only function properly when the market price is the true cost.
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